Ruby's POV

That night, I slipped the photograph beneath my pillow as if hiding it there would quiet my mind. But sleep didn’t come easily. Every time I closed my eyes, the image of that baby wrapped in the patterned blanket flashed before me. The same pattern Austin swore connected me to a higher wolf bloodline.

My chest tightened as I turned from one side to the other. Austin’s words echoed over and over. His certainty that I wasn’t human, his conviction that I was his mate. And then ...